Eleven undergraduate and postgraduate students hailing from various parts of Afghanistan, pursuing studies in the Jawaharlal Nehru University of Technological Sciences (JNTU) Anantapur, are a worried lot and are staring at an uncertain future following the situation arising out of the political strife back in their country in the past one month.
Living here on the university campus has been the most difficult thing for them during the strife, as one of the students lost her sister during the current spell of violence and the others are constantly in touch with their parents and loved ones hoping that things improve for the good at the earliest so that they could peacefully continue their studies.
Harun Khan and Mohammed Ameen, undergraduate students at the University Engineering College here, told The Hindu that things were improving back in Kabul, where their parents and other family members live.
While Harun’s father is a retired army officer, his brother works in a Ministry of the Afghan Government and is waiting for a word from the new dispensation at the Presidential Palace to join duty. Ameen’s father has reopened his construction materials shop after a brief closure and feels things are improving.
Six of the postgraduate students pursuing MBA and M.Tech will be completing their academics by September 30 and the ICCR does not support their stay and they cease to get their scholarship amount, which is the most worrisome for all of them. A couple of them are married and their spouses are back in Afghanistan.
They have pleaded with the Indian Government to allow them to stay for an additional three months by giving an extension for the validity of their visa. JNTU Anantapur Registrar C. Sasidhar said that had taken letters from the PG students and forwarded their request to the ICCR with a recommendation to allow extension of their stay on the campus.
“We are with the Afghan students and assure them of all possible help from our side,” Mr. Sashidhar added.
One of the 11 students had gone back to Afghanistan after the first wave of the COVID19 pandemic and could not return to the campus, but is currently attending online classes.
